Maduro's Support Slips to 24.3 Percent, Venezuelan Poll Finds

FILE - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks to reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York, July 28, 2015.

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Maduro's Support Slips to 24.3 Percent, Venezuelan Poll Finds

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CARACAS, VENEZUELA —

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's popularity fell to 24.3 percent in July, hurt by voracious inflation and shortages of goods ranging from spare parts to shampoo, according to respected local pollster Datanalisis.

The oil-producing country is suffering from a brutal recession stemming in part from strict controls that crimp access to hard currency and imports, and aggravated by the tumble in crude prices.

Maduro, who narrowly won an election to replace the late Hugo Chavez in 2013, has avoided the structural reforms economists say are needed to keep conditions from worsening.

About 24.3 percent of those surveyed gave positive evaluations to Maduro's governance, down from 25.8 percent in May, the latest Datanalisis survey showed. Negative evaluations climbed to 70.4 percent from 68.8 percent.

Several Latin American presidents, including Brazil's Dilma Rousseff and Peru's Ollanta Humala, have even lower approval ratings.

Maduro, who lacks favorable oil prices and Chavez's charisma, is gearing up for the Dec. 6 parliamentary election in which the political opposition has its best shot in years at winning control of the National Assembly.

Only 19.2 percent would vote for candidates from the ruling Socialist Party if the election were held this Sunday, versus 42.2 percent for the opposition, according to the poll. But 17.5 percent said they did not know or would not answer.

No edge for opposition

While support for Maduro has tumbled, especially in poor areas hit hard by price increases and scarcity, a fragmented and elite-dominated opposition has yet to capitalize on the discontent.

About 82.2 percent of Venezuelans surveyed described the current economic situation as negative, with 65.5 percent saying inflation was making it impossible for their households to make ends meet.

The central bank has not published 2015 consumer price data, but economists say annual inflation has topped 100 percent.